CECIL HURT: Compliments aside, UA remains on even keel

Published: Sunday, February 20, 2005 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, February 20, 2005 at 12:48 a.m.

There may not be a sport that invites more commentary than college basketball. After all, more than 300 teams play in every corner of the country, and the NCAA Tournament in March is the single most unifying sporting event in the country, even more than the Super Bowl, in my opinion.

So at this time of year, everybody's talking. Mark Gottfried just hopes his team isn't listening.

It's certainly not hard to ignore sports columnists, or television commentators, or NCAA bracketologists. When a 20-year veteran head coach like Dave Odom starts singing your praises, that might be a little tougher for a team to ignore.

"We were beaten by the best team that we have played, on this particular day," Odom said. "That says nothing disparaging about Kansas, or Florida, or Pittsburgh, or Kentucky. But on this particular day, Alabama was better than those teams."

Odom's comments were more than just the gracious words of a disappointed losing coach. When Alabama is shooting the basketball the way it did Saturday, or against Mississippi State last month, the Crimson Tide is one of the best teams in the country.

Against South Carolina, a very good defensive team, Alabama scored 80 points in 33 minutes before slowing the tempo a little, and the Tide did it without seeming to expend an inordinate amount of effort.

But when asked what he thought of Odom's comments, Mark Gottfried just laughed.

"It's a set-up," he said.

For a team that's lacking experience, it certainly could be a set-up. But that may be the point where this Alabama team is different.

"One thing about our players, they've been on an even keel all year," Gottfried said. "They've stayed that way whether we have won big or lost big, and we've done both. There's not a lot of discussion about an SEC Championship, or where they'll be seeded in the tournament. They've stayed pretty focused on the task at hand."

The reason for that may have its roots in last season. The experience this Alabama team has -- a run to the Elite Eight -- is one thing that no Crimson Tide team in history has had before. No other group of Alabama players has been as close to a spot in the Final Four as these players were a year ago. So when these players hear about how far they could possibly go, or how good they might be, they bring a different perspective than teams in the past.

"I think that has something to do with it," Gottfried said. "These guys know where they want to go. Last year, they were 40 minutes from a Final Four. So they know what it takes."

All that Alabama really has in hand at the moment is an opportunity. Now, that's a great thing to have. Alabama is one of only two teams in the Southeastern Conference in control of its own championship destiny. Kentucky is the other. If Alabama wins the last four games on its schedule, it will win the SEC championship, either outright or in tandem with Kentucky.

It won't be easy to turn opportunity in reality. One great thing from a fan's perspective is that Alabama's closing stretch of games includes its closest contenders - LSU in the Western Division is the Tide's Tuesday opponent, and Kentucky comes to town next Saturday. That might not be the easiest path to a title, but it is the recipe for classic, memorable basketball, the kind of games that fans will talk about 20 years in the future.

It's great for Alabama that Dave Odom is comparing them to Kansas and Kentucky. Once even better, for basketball fans, is that over the next few weeks, the Crimson Tide will have the chance to prove that Odom is right.

<p>There may not be a sport that invites more commentary than college basketball. After all, more than 300 teams play in every corner of the country, and the NCAA Tournament in March is the single most unifying sporting event in the country, even more than the Super Bowl, in my opinion.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>So at this time of year, everybody's talking. Mark Gottfried just hopes his team isn't listening.</p><p>It's certainly not hard to ignore sports columnists, or television commentators, or NCAA bracketologists. When a 20-year veteran head coach like Dave Odom starts singing your praises, that might be a little tougher for a team to ignore.</p><p>"We were beaten by the best team that we have played, on this particular day," Odom said. "That says nothing disparaging about Kansas, or Florida, or Pittsburgh, or Kentucky. But on this particular day, Alabama was better than those teams."</p><p>Odom's comments were more than just the gracious words of a disappointed losing coach. When Alabama is shooting the basketball the way it did Saturday, or against Mississippi State last month, the Crimson Tide is one of the best teams in the country.</p><p>Against South Carolina, a very good defensive team, Alabama scored 80 points in 33 minutes before slowing the tempo a little, and the Tide did it without seeming to expend an inordinate amount of effort.</p><p>But when asked what he thought of Odom's comments, Mark Gottfried just laughed.</p><p>"It's a set-up," he said.</p><p>For a team that's lacking experience, it certainly could be a set-up. But that may be the point where this Alabama team is different.</p><p>"One thing about our players, they've been on an even keel all year," Gottfried said. "They've stayed that way whether we have won big or lost big, and we've done both. There's not a lot of discussion about an SEC Championship, or where they'll be seeded in the tournament. They've stayed pretty focused on the task at hand."</p><p>The reason for that may have its roots in last season. The experience this Alabama team has -- a run to the Elite Eight -- is one thing that no Crimson Tide team in history has had before. No other group of Alabama players has been as close to a spot in the Final Four as these players were a year ago. So when these players hear about how far they could possibly go, or how good they might be, they bring a different perspective than teams in the past.</p><p>"I think that has something to do with it," Gottfried said. "These guys know where they want to go. Last year, they were 40 minutes from a Final Four. So they know what it takes."</p><p>All that Alabama really has in hand at the moment is an opportunity. Now, that's a great thing to have. Alabama is one of only two teams in the Southeastern Conference in control of its own championship destiny. Kentucky is the other. If Alabama wins the last four games on its schedule, it will win the SEC championship, either outright or in tandem with Kentucky.</p><p>It won't be easy to turn opportunity in reality. One great thing from a fan's perspective is that Alabama's closing stretch of games includes its closest contenders - LSU in the Western Division is the Tide's Tuesday opponent, and Kentucky comes to town next Saturday. That might not be the easiest path to a title, but it is the recipe for classic, memorable basketball, the kind of games that fans will talk about 20 years in the future.</p><p>It's great for Alabama that Dave Odom is comparing them to Kansas and Kentucky. Once even better, for basketball fans, is that over the next few weeks, the Crimson Tide will have the chance to prove that Odom is right.</p><p>(Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0225.</p>